A PRO (Performing Rights Organization) is a non-profit or for-profit entity that licenses and collects public performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers. In the United States, the three PROs are BMI (free, open membership), ASCAP ($50 lifetime fee, member-elected board), and SESAC (invite-only). Internationally, equivalent CMOs include PRS (UK), SACEM (France), GEMA (Germany), JASRAC (Japan), and dozens more.

PROs collect performance royalties whenever a song is played on terrestrial radio, in venues, on TV, in films, or on interactive streaming services like Spotify. Songwriters must affiliate with one PRO at a time and receive an IPI number that uniquely identifies them across all global royalty collection.

PRO royalties typically average $0.001-0.005 per US stream and are paid quarterly. A songwriter without PRO affiliation collects $0 in performance royalties — affiliation is the prerequisite for nearly all songwriter income.

Producer Tour's writer program registers writers with their PRO + handles ongoing royalty collection at 20% of recovered royalties with no monthly fee.